Marine Corps League honors wounded warriors

Tuesday

Nov 10, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Marine Corps League Detachment 061 honored Purple Heart recipients representing three generations at a banquet Saturday that celebrated today as the 234th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Marine Corps.

By Andy FillmoreCorrespondent

Marine Corps League Detachment 061 honored Purple Heart recipients representing three generations at a banquet Saturday that celebrated today as the 234th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Marine Corps.Those honored included Lance Cpl. John Doody, wounded in combat in Iraq in 2007; three-time Purple Heart recipient, Gary Newell, who served in Vietnam; and Marvin Whiteaker, a victim of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings.The Purple Heart, established by President George Washington and bearing his profile, is awarded to service members of any military branch or civilian nationals killed or wounded in action against an enemy of the United States.Doody, 26, said he joined the Marines in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.He was deployed to Iraq, where he suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his leg. He contracted a severe blood infection, then suffered a stroke and lack of oxygen to his brain, rendering him unresponsive and unable to move.Some doctors told his mother he might never wake up.In February 2008, Doody entered a rehabilitation program in Tampa and was released 10 months later. Although immobile and confined to a wheelchair, he has become responsive to conversation and continues to improve."He's a miracle," said his mother, Christine Ott."[First] he said he would be a mortar man and be out of fire, but when he got his combat action ribbon, he told me, 'Don't worry, Mom, they shoot over our heads and run off,' " Ott said.

On his Marine dress blue uniform, Doody wore insignia identifying his participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism. Predominant on his chest was his Purple Heart.When asked if he would go through it again, he said without hesitation: "Yes, I would, because America needs it."Marine Corps League Detachment 061 senior vice commander Dick Hauck introduced Newell and Whiteaker following a presentation of colors by the Marion County Young Marines, headed by retired Marine Master Sgt. Don Williams.Newell joined the Marines in the 1960s and served in the Vietnam War during what he called the "Kennedy Camelot" days.We followed the example of our [World War II veteran] fathers to fight for our country, he said.Newell, 63, is a veteran of the battle at Khe Sanh where "1,800 Marines [were under siege by] three divisions of the North Vietnamese army," he said.He urged veterans to talk about their personal experiences, saying he endured some problems he attributed in part to post traumatic stress disorder.He also spoke about the enduring message of the Purple Heart medal."We spilled our blood for an ideal that this country was founded on freedom for everyone," Newell said. "Someone has to pick up the saber. If these kids didn't do it, where would we be after 9/11?"Whiteaker, 46, said he joined the corps in the 1980s because he always wanted to be a Marine.

After being injured in Beirut, he said, "I was bandaged [from my neck to my torso] and they called me the 'Walking Q-Tip.' ""President Reagan pinned on my Purple Heart," he said.Whiteaker assisted Doody with his dress uniform before the banquet and said he instantly bonded with the young man.After Purple Heart recipients Henry Baggett and Larry Thacker were introduced, a cake was presented and the first piece went to Millie Schipski, 86, who served in a paymaster's office from 1943 to 1945.According to tradition, Hauck said, Schipski passed that serving to Doody as the youngest serving Marine in attendance.

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